Communication friendly learning environments
Create a calm low-stimulus environment
Reduce background noise and visual clutter. Clear displays, and quiet zones to help children focus and process language without sensory overload.
Use visual supports
Incorporate visual timetables, symbols, cue cards, and gesture prompts. Visuals help children understand routines, transitions, and instructions, especially if they struggle with auditory processing.
Model clear, simple language
Give precise and clear instructions, broken down into shorter sentences. Ensure new vocabulary is understood before it is used.
Check understanding regularly
Don’t just ask "Do you understand?" Use open-ended questions or ask the child to explain it back in their own words. Give plenty of time for them to respond.
Pre-teach key vocabulary
Introduce and explain new words before lessons. Use repetition, visuals, and context to help reinforce understanding and use.
Support transitions with preparation and cues
Give children warnings before changing activities and use visual or auditory cues to signal transitions. This helps reduce anxiety and confusion.
ADHD and sensory regulation
When it comes to sensory regulation and ADHD, children with ADHD often experience challenges in processing and responding to sensory information, which can impact their ability to focus, engage, and regulate their behaviour. Here’s what you might see.
Intense response to sensory stimuli
Students with ADHD may become easily overwhelmed or distressed by sensory input like bright lights, loud noises, or strong smells. This can lead to distractions, anxiety, or meltdowns.
Seek out sensory input
Some children with ADHD may seek excessive sensory stimulation, such as fidgeting, tapping, or making repetitive movements. This is often a way to self-regulate or release excess energy.
Difficulty with focus in a stimulating environment
Children with ADHD might struggle to concentrate in busy or noisy environments, becoming distracted by small sounds, movements, or visual stimuli around them.
Impulsive behaviour in response to sensory overload
Sensory overload may cause impulsive actions, such as blurting out answers, moving around the classroom excessively, or reacting out of frustration because they are unable to filter or process the stimuli properly.
Supporting sensory regulation
Be mindful of sensory triggers
Bright lights, loud noises, or crowded spaces can be overstimulating. Adjust lighting, reduce background noise, and seat learners away from high-traffic.
In corporate movement breaks
Regular physical activity supports sensory regulation and improves focus. Try brain breaks, short walks, or stretches every 20 to 30 minutes.
Consider the learning environment and it's setup
Explore wobble stools, standing desks, floor cushions, or fidget-friendly chairs to support learners who need to move while working.
Create calm, low-stimulation zones
Set up a quiet corner or chill-out space where learners can go to regulate emotions or sensory overload. Include calming visuals, or noise-cancelling headphones.
Build in predictable routines
Clear, consistent routines help reduce anxiety and sensory overwhelm. Use visual timetables, countdowns, and routine cues to support transitions.
Teach and model self-regulation strategies
Practice calming strategies like deep breathing, mindfulness. These should be part of a consistent structured approach that looks at triggers and coping strategies, such as the incredible five point scale or zones of regulation.
Executive functioning skills
Executive functioning refers to a set of cognitive processes that allow individuals to plan, initiate, and prioritise. These skills are crucial for controlling behavior, managing time, regulating emotions, starting and completing tasks, and making decisions. In children with ADHD, executive functioning challenges can significantly impact their ability to succeed in school and other areas of life.
Planning and organisation
Children with ADHD may struggle to organise their materials, follow multi-step instructions, and prioritise tasks. They might often lose things like homework, books, or assignments because of poor organisational skills.
Working memory
Working memory difficulties can cause children with ADHD to forget instructions or lose track of what they were doing. They might need repeated reminders and struggle to retain information long enough to act on it.
Impulsivity and poor self-control
Children with ADHD often act without thinking. They may interrupt others, blurt out answers, or make hasty decisions without considering the consequences. This impulsive behavior can disrupt their learning and social interactions.
Task initiation
Starting tasks can be difficult, and children with ADHD may procrastinate or delay beginning assignments. They might struggle to follow through on long-term projects or forget to complete steps along the way, resulting in unfinished work.
Time management
Children with ADHD may have trouble estimating how much time is needed for tasks and often mismanage time, leading to last-minute rushes or missed deadlines. They might also have difficulty transitioning between tasks efficiently.
Emotional regulation
Children with ADHD can have difficulty managing emotions, often having big reactions to frustrations, disappointments, or even minor setbacks. This emotional outburst may interfere with their ability to focus or engage in activities.
Flexibility
Flexibility can be challenging, so a child with ADHD might have trouble switching from one activity to another or adjusting to changes in routine. They may resist new instructions or show frustration when something doesn't go according to plan.
Supporting and developing executive functioning skills
Break tasks into manageable steps
Large tasks can feel overwhelming. Break activities into smaller, clearly defined chunks with visual checklists or step-by-step guides. Celebrate progress at each stage.
Consistency
Consistency supports memory and independence. Use predictable routines for starting lessons, transitioning between tasks, and organizing materials.
Build in time
Starting tasks can be difficult. Use cues like “You can start by…” or model the first step together. Use timers or countdowns to signal when to begin.
Use visual timetables and reminders
Provide daily visual timetables, to-do lists, or timers to support planning and time management.
Color coding and icons can help make these tools more accessible and engaging.
Build independence
Support learners with labelled folders, color-coded subjects, and check-in systems for homework or materials. Use prompts like “What do I need? What’s next?” to build habits.
Self reflection
Encourage learners to pause and reflect: “What’s my goal?” “How am I doing?” “What could I do differently?” Tools like the Zones of Regulation, Incredible five point scale or daily check-ins can help develop metacognitive awareness.
Hyperactivity and impulsivity
In the classroom, hyperactivity and impulsivity in learners with ADHD can show up in a variety of ways. These behaviors are often misunderstood as intentional disruptions, but they are typically the result of neurological differences in self-regulation.
Here's what you might see:
Constant movement: The child may fidget, tap their feed or hands, wiggle in their seat, or frequently get up and move around the classroom without permission.
Difficulty staying seated: They may leave their seat often during lessons, even when it's expected that they remain seated.
Talking excessively: Hyperactive learners may talk out of turn or narrate their thoughts, often unaware of the classrooms social norms for speaking.
Restlessness during quiet tasks: They may struggle during seated or quiet activities like reading or writing, appearing visibly uncomfortable or distracted.
What you might see: Impulsivity
Blurting out answers: The child may call out answers before questions are finished or interrupt the teacher or peers frequently. The child may speak before thinking, which can have an impact upon relationships with adults and peers.
Difficulty waiting their turn: They may struggle with turn-taking in group activities or games, leading to frustration or conflict with others.
Risk-taking or rule-breaking: Impulsive learners might do things without thinking, like shouting, grabbing items, or running in the classroom, because they act before processing consequences.
Emotional outbursts: Impulsivity can also lead to quick shifts in emotion, such as sudden anger, frustration, or excitement that seems out of proportion to the situation.
Supporting hyperactivity
Incorporate movement breaks
Allow short, regular breaks where students can engage in physical activities like stretching, walking, or quick exercises to release pent-up energy.
Provide flexible seating options
Offer seating choices such as standing desks, wobble stools, or fidget-friendly chairs to let students move while still remaining engaged in their work.
Consistency
Consistency helps support hyperactivity by providing a predictable structure that reduces anxiety and impulsive behaviors. When students know what to expect, such as a regular routine and clear expectations, they feel more secure and less overwhelmed. This stability allows them to better manage their energy, focus on tasks, and make smoother transitions between activities, ultimately leading to improved self- regulation and reduced hyperactive behaviors.
Use clear, structured routines
A predictable schedule helps students know what to expect. Use visual timetables and transitions cues to help them prepare for what’s coming next and reduce impulsivity.
Build in time
Giving students time to process helps support hyperactivity by reducing the need for immediate action, which can prevent impulsive behaviors. When students are given time to think and absorb information, it allows them to calm their racing thoughts and regulate their energy levels. This approach fosters better focus and reduces restlessness, helping them engage more effectively with tasks and instructions.
Encourage focused fidgeting
Provide discreet fidget tools or stress balls to help students self- regulate. These can channel excess energy without being distracting, but ensure there are clear guidelines for use.
Supporting impulsive behaviours
Behaviour management
Establish simple, clear, and consistent classroom rules that help students understand what is expected of them and how to repair a problem using a restorative approach. Reinforce these expectations regularly to promote self-control.
Reflections
Use prompts like "How will that make somebody feel?" or visual signals to remind students to pause and consider their actions before reacting impulsively.
Self regulation
Encourage students to use techniques like deep breathing, counting to ten, or taking a brief pause before responding. Role-playing or practicing these strategies can help make them more effective.
Processing time
Give students extra time to think before they respond to questions or situations. Using techniques like "3-2-1" countdowns or visual timers can help them recognise when it’s their turn to speak or act.
Praise
Praise and reward thoughtful, measured responses to reinforce the behavior you want to see. This can help students connect impulse control with positive outcomes, encouraging them to slow down and think before acting.
Celebrate strengths and foster belonging
ADHD learners often have high energy, creativity, and problem- solving skills. Create a strengths- based classroom where they feel valued and understood.
Inattention
Inattention involves challenges with:
Trouble staying focused on tasks or activities, especially if they’re long, repetitive, or not stimulating.
Difficulty filtering out distractions and focusing on what's important. Difficulty starting a task. Forgetting instructions, losing track of what they’re doing, or skipping steps in multi-part tasks.
Task management: Problems starting, organising, or completing work efficiently.
Easily distracted
The learner may appear to daydream, stare out the window, or be distracted by noises, movements, or classmates. They may miss key instructions as a result.
Appears not to listen
Even when spoken to directly, they may not seem to register what’s being said, or to retain the information. They may not follow through on instructions. Alternatively, they may appear not be listening when they are.
Disorganised work
Their desk, books, or materials may be messy or misplaced. They might forget to bring necessary items to class or turn in incomplete work.
Difficulty starting or completing tasks
The learner may procrastinate, lose focus midway through a task, or abandon activities before finishing. Multi-step tasks are especially challenging.
Supporting inattention
Provide clear, short instructions
Break down instructions into clear, manageable steps and repeat them if necessary. This helps students focus on one task at a time and reduces distractions caused by feeling overwhelmed. Consider using recording buttons or talking tins so that pupils can play back instructions to increase independence.
Use visual supports
Visual cues such as checklists, schedules, and graphic organisers help reinforce verbal instructions and keep students on track, making it easier for them to stay focused.
Incorporate active learning
Engage students with hands-on activities, group work, or movement- based tasks to maintain their attention. Varying the types of learning experiences helps prevent boredom and increases focus.
Create a structured environment
A predictable classroom routine with set times for tasks, breaks, and transitions helps students stay organised and on task.
Consistency reduces distractions and supports sustained attention.
Minimise distractions
Seat students in quieter areas of the classroom, away from windows, high-traffic zones, or visual distractions. Reducing sensory overload can help students stay focused on the lesson.
Use frequent check-ins
Check in with students regularly to ensure they are on task and understanding the material. Quick, non-disruptive reminders or prompts can help refocus attention without causing frustration.